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Getting a sharp picture on P1000

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CAADET

CAADET

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I own the D810, AR7iii, P900, and the P1000. I noticed that with the P1000 particularly, that a lot of my casual photos comes out a tad blurry, like a smeared painting. I compared my picture taking style with the Sony and the P900, not so bad on the P900, no smear on the Sony. However if I used a timer on the P1000, its much better, even handheld.

I've narrowed it down to two items 1) the shutter button action, which seems to require a heavier press than usual to take a photo. 2) the camera is slow at taking the actual picture from the moment the shutter is pressed.

Its at this instant that the camera takes a blurred picture. I'm mainly comparing the photos from full auto and full manual so see how the active and normal vibration will help. Its said to help to 5 stops but I dont seem to get any advantage of it.

Wonder what others have done to overcome this? For me I think I may need to stick to a timer based shot for a very sharp picture which is hard - kind of like a delayed shutter setting in D810, but then thats when I really want a still photo due to shutter shake. It just seems to me the P1000 has enough of a delay from the moment the shutter button is pressed to when the actual picture is taken.

The portrait mode in particular is seriously annoying. I'll have to check but the P900 wasn't that slow.
 
..below is from IR..

Source: https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-p1000/nikon-p1000A6.HTM
Source: https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-p1000/nikon-p1000A6.HTM

Source: https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-p1000/nikon-p1000A6.HTM
Source: https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-p1000/nikon-p1000A6.HTM

***********

..Cheers..
 
I looked at the site for performance numbers from the D810 and the numbers don't impress over the P1000 yet when you take a picture with the D810, it acts. The P1000 will lag.

Those times posted for the P1000 are in a lab . I'll try the prefocus mode on. I dont see too many other options on the P1000 to offer more stabilization.
 
I found that a stack of paper napkins can serve as good support, as shown in the following photo. First you find a "baseline platform" (the pillar in the photo), not necessarily at the same level as your shooting target. Then you pave the paper napkins beneath the front or rear end of the camera, to raise or lower its attitude. The napkin stack can be folded (even more than once) to increase thickness. The napkins can be positioned at the front/rear edge of the camera's underside or somewhere in between, to fine tune the camera's attitude. In the photo below, the napkins are folded and placed under the rear of the camera, to lower the camera's attitude toward the night heron.

dedd15f4bf584523946454e5001b97db.jpg

CAADET said:
I own the D810, AR7iii, P900, and the P1000. I noticed that with the P1000 particularly, that a lot of my casual photos comes out a tad blurry, like a smeared painting. I compared my picture taking style with the Sony and the P900, not so bad on the P900, no smear on the Sony. However if I used a timer on the P1000, its much better, even handheld.

I've narrowed it down to two items 1) the shutter button action, which seems to require a heavier press than usual to take a photo. 2) the camera is slow at taking the actual picture from the moment the shutter is pressed.

Its at this instant that the camera takes a blurred picture. I'm mainly comparing the photos from full auto and full manual so see how the active and normal vibration will help. Its said to help to 5 stops but I dont seem to get any advantage of it.

Wonder what others have done to overcome this? For me I think I may need to stick to a timer based shot for a very sharp picture which is hard - kind of like a delayed shutter setting in D810, but then thats when I really want a still photo due to shutter shake. It just seems to me the P1000 has enough of a delay from the moment the shutter button is pressed to when the actual picture is taken.

The portrait mode in particular is seriously annoying. I'll have to check but the P900 wasn't that slow.
Click to expand...
 
CAADET said:
I looked at the site for performance numbers from the D810 and the numbers don't impress over the P1000 yet when you take a picture with the D810, it acts. The P1000 will lag.

Those times posted for the P1000 are in a lab . I'll try the prefocus mode on. I dont see too many other options on the P1000 to offer more stabilization.
Click to expand...
..hmm, not sure exactly..

..take a look at the memory card you're using, make sure it's a fast one.. that's the only thing I can think that may/can influence the performances..

..Cheers..
 
Well I found that the camera doesnt always consistently take a picture with the same reaction time, even when its in focus. The time between when the shutter button is pressed till when the electronic shutter actually acts varies. I'm not sure what the camera is doing but, when its focussed and ready to take a picture I expect the camera to take the picture at the moment the shutter button is pressed. Not always the same reaction time. My Sony and D810 always does. Theres no lag on those cameras once focus is acquired.
 
I have not noticed any significant lag between the button press and the picture being taken. Is that what you are talking about (and not the time taken to process the image after it has been taken)?

It is possible that the stabilization may be a factor - presumably the camera waits until the image is steady before taking the shot (if you have that unction activated), so that might cause a variable delay.

One thing to keep in mind, the act of pressing the button itself may shift the camera, especially at long focal lengths.
 
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E_Davies said:
Are you talking about half press to full? (ie after AF is confirmed with green box)
Click to expand...
Yes. This is after I get a green focus and depressed the shutter button. From that moment till I hear the electronic shutter go - varies. My question is whats the camera doing? I dont get this from the A7Riii or D810.
 
Tugela said:
I have not noticed any significant lag between the button press and the picture being taken. Is that what you are talking about (and not the time taken to process the image after it has been taken)?

It is possible that the stabilization may be a factor - presumably the camera waits until the image is steady before taking the shot (if you have that unction activated), so that might cause a variable delay.

One thing to keep in mind, the act of pressing the button itself may shift the camera, especially at long focal lengths.
Click to expand...
Yes I totally understand the pressing of the button itself may shift the camera - I noted this myself.

But the motion of the camera from the button being pressed is further narrowed to being the camera delaying the shot after the button is pressed with a green focus rectangle.

It is because of this delay that most of my casual pictures are blurred. I press the shutter button, expect the camera to take the picture instantly, but is delayed for X seconds.

Again this is not happening as easily on the A7riii or D810. I'm guessing the camera is processing something else which is where I'm going with my question.
 
jshen808 said:
CAADET said:
I looked at the site for performance numbers from the D810 and the numbers don't impress over the P1000 yet when you take a picture with the D810, it acts. The P1000 will lag.

Those times posted for the P1000 are in a lab . I'll try the prefocus mode on. I dont see too many other options on the P1000 to offer more stabilization.
Click to expand...
..hmm, not sure exactly..

..take a look at the memory card you're using, make sure it's a fast one.. that's the only thing I can think that may/can influence the performances..

..Cheers..
Click to expand...
I dont think its the memory card speed since the camera is ready.
 
Dodge_Rock said:
CAADET said:
...

I've narrowed it down to two items 1) the shutter button action, which seems to require a heavier press than usual to take a photo.
Click to expand...
... sticking one of these on your shutter button makes pressing much easier.

https://www.amazon.com/SoftTouch-Pi...pID=41jeB3R0hgL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Slow shutter speed or auto/certain scene modes will cause a delay, especially in low light.
Click to expand...
Heh I just got some for my saxophone. I'll have to try. I think you might be onto something. The camera behave differently in different lighting, even with the green rectangle in focus.

I was in a sunny day using iso 100 at Monterey Bay, CA. Took several pictures of the ocean and beach. Most of them came back blurry. I blame my finger depressing the shutter as being the shake.

Since my posting of this question I looked at P4000K's picture of the fall colors between the P1000 and the Sony A7iii. The Sony resolved the pictures much better than the P1000 in my eyes. The P1000's pictures are what I called "smeared". I dont understand why if the lens are supposed to be a good match to the sensor that the resolve isn't perfect.
 
You might have missed one key cause: Vibration Reduction. While it can help you get the shot and be better than off, it will almost never take the sharpest photo simply because the lens element is always moving. This is probably further worsened with the larger lens. If you turn VR off, set the camera down on a solid surface and take a photo, it will definitely be super sharp.

The problem with these camera's in general is the combination of a not soo fast lens and a not soo large sensor, you're really limited in the speed of exposure compared to better camera's. For example, for a picture you might need 1/30th of a second to get proper exposure, an APSC or full frame camera might be able to take the same photo at 1/1000th of a second, which makes for a sharper photo.

For me, these types of camera's are only really sharp if you're at least on a solid tripod. Otherwise you will end up with some degree of sharpness loss.
 
Obviously, you have zero experience with this camera.

Your speculation is simply incorrect.

In my first post on this forum, the first picture was taken hand held, VR on, focal length 3000mm at just 1/400 sec.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61859789

In my upcoming post, Part 2, I will provide many similar examples of the performance of the P1000 at 3000mm, and the settings and techniques necessary to achieve extremely sharp photographs - straight from the camera, with or without a tripod.
 
CAADET said:
E_Davies said:
Are you talking about half press to full? (ie after AF is confirmed with green box)
Click to expand...
Yes. This is after I get a green focus and depressed the shutter button. From that moment till I hear the electronic shutter go - varies. My question is whats the camera doing? I dont get this from the A7Riii or D810.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've noticed that delay to the 'shutter' sound and hold the camera steady up to that point.
 
preferredfault said:
You might have missed one key cause: Vibration Reduction. While it can help you get the shot and be better than off, it will almost never take the sharpest photo simply because the lens element is always moving. This is probably further worsened with the larger lens. If you turn VR off, set the camera down on a solid surface and take a photo, it will definitely be super sharp.

The problem with these camera's in general is the combination of a not soo fast lens and a not soo large sensor, you're really limited in the speed of exposure compared to better camera's. For example, for a picture you might need 1/30th of a second to get proper exposure, an APSC or full frame camera might be able to take the same photo at 1/1000th of a second, which makes for a sharper photo.

For me, these types of camera's are only really sharp if you're at least on a solid tripod. Otherwise you will end up with some degree of sharpness loss.
Click to expand...
Will try vr on and off again to see.

Lately Ive been resorting to using manual focus with 1 peak setting. Its ok, not as sharp as Paul’s pics.
 
i look forward to

In my upcoming post, Part 2, I will provide many similar examples of the performance of the P1000 at 3000mm, and the settings and techniques necessary to achieve extremely sharp photographs - straight from the camera, with or without a tripod

now that the canon sx70 is delayed for a few months i am very interested to see your results if i like them i may reconsider buying the p1000.
 
Tugela said:
I have not noticed any significant lag between the button press and the picture being taken. Is that what you are talking about (and not the time taken to process the image after it has been taken)?

It is possible that the stabilization may be a factor - presumably the camera waits until the image is steady before taking the shot (if you have that unction activated), so that might cause a variable delay.

One thing to keep in mind, the act of pressing the button itself may shift the camera, especially at long focal lengths.
Click to expand...
Taking a steady photo is identical to firing a gun accurately. You have to squeeze evenly, without jerking it. You shouldn't know just when the shutter will click, because you may wiggle the camera a bit, in anticipation of it. And hold steady in the follow-through action, to make sure the shutter is finished, before the camera moves.

I went through extensive training in the Army, to learn how to fire a .45 pistol accurately. It is so important to not know when your trigger squeeze will actually fire it, as if you do, you can't avoid the anticipation that will pull it a bit off target.

--
Steve McDonald
My Flickr Album
My Vimeo Video Album
 
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Im onboard with what youre saying here, I touched on this with understanding of my finger and mirror slap on the D810. In my gallery, the P900 pics are sharp. Im just noticing that my pics from my P1000 tend to be on the blurry side. Maybe the button needs more force and I tend to do what you said. Other factors could be getting old...
 
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